For the party which changes her life, Adelita wears a white dress which sets off her bird- and flower-embroidered shawl: White dresses are traditional festival apparel in Mexico.

Esperanza appears after the departure of Adelita’s stepfamily. She braids Adelita’s tresses with flowers and ribbons. She brings Adela’s bird- and flower-embroidered shawl and old-fashioned white dress from a trunk in the storage room. She gets Adelita to the party in a borrowed cart. Adelita introduces herself as Cenicienta (“Cinderella”). Fearing exposure as a kitchen maid unworthy of the town’s most eligible bachelor, Adelita leaves at midnight despite Javier’s:

Dancing and dining only with her;

Kissing her;

Professing undying love.

Javier makes house-to-house searches the next day. He notices Adela’s shawl hanging from an attic window. He marries Adelita with Doña Micaela’s permission. Adelita and Javier welcome her stepfamily as wedding guests and Esperanza as household member.

Adelita by Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola?s exquisite paintings, filled with the folk art of Mexico, make this a Cinderella story like no other.

Conclusion

Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story appears in English language format, with regular phrasing in Spanish. The English translations can be found after the Spanish phrases and in the glossary at the story’s end. The book’s release in 2002 draws upon the talents of:

Tomie dePaola, as artist and author;

Gina DiMassi and Cecilia Yung, as book designers;

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, as publisher;

South China Printing Co., as Hong Kong-based printer.

The text is set most attractively and legibly in Esprit Bold against the artistic acrylics effectuated on 140-pound Arches cold-pressed handmade watercolor paper. It offers bi-cultural diversity, educational entertainment, family fun, and Mexican insights for readers aged 5 years and upward and students attending kindergarten and onward.

Comments

Mira, Me, too, I appreciate Mr. dePaola as a "creator of magic." It's amazing how much can be learned from fairy and folk tales, both of which enchant children, whose young minds would seem not to perceive the deep truths therein. Or perhaps they do perceive them, according to those who believe that children are born omniscient and gradually bury/forget/lose the awareness of that wisdom during the childhood journey through the "real" world.Me, too, I also appreciate folk tales.